Mechanical dishwasher



Sept. 30, 1930. F. A. WALKR 1,777,058

Y MECHANICAL DISHWASHEH Filed July 2v. 1927 APatented Sept. 30, 1930 lroaruazsxra. WALKER, or sYaAcUsE, NEW Yoax MEcHaNIcAL msH'wAsHEa Application led J'uly v27, 1927. Serial No. 208,664.

This invention relates to a mechanical dishwasher of the class set forth in my ending application Serial N o. 124,640, filed uly 24, 1926, but more particularly to thev dish-supporting tray or basket and to a protective screen across the undersides of the dish-supporting members and its relation to the tray and impeller.

These trays or baskets are usually made of open-workwire construction supported within the vat clear from'the rotary impeller and provided with an inner cage for .receiving and supporting knives, forks, spoons and other small objects in addition to a considerable variety of plates and other'dishes oommonly used in dining-rooms and kitchens.

One of the objects is to construct the tray or basket with a less number of parts and considerably lighter than has heretofore been practised without sacrificing its strength and durability by ymaking the cage a unitarypart' of the basket.

Another object is to place a wire screen protective shield within the vat in a plane between the impeller and dish-supporting members and of suiciently fine mesh to prevent the passage therethrough'of knives, forks, spoons and other small vobjects which, if 4allowed to pass into the impeller chamber, might cause more or lessvinjury to the impeller or other articles coming in contact therewith. i

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the apparatus will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan of a dish-supporting tray or basket embodying` some of thel'features of my invention including the protective screen. Y

Figure 2 is a verticalsectional view of the lower portion of a vat withthe impeller and dish-supporting tray in operative osltion.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detai sectional view of a portion of the tray showing the manner of supporting the protective screen on the marginal rail of the tray.

' Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly 1n perspectlve, of onel of the partitions and adja- /cent portions of the inner and outer rings.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood I have shown a portion of a cylindrical vat -1'- of a mechanical dishwasher having an inverted conical bottom -.2- and a rota impeller S3- journaled in the apex 65 of the ottom -2-, sald bottom being provided with a drainage outlet 4- at one side of, but adjacent the impeller 3-.

The supporting tray for dishes and other objects previously mentioned is preferably circular in, top plan and of approximatel but slightly less diameter than the interior d1- ameter of the vat to enable it to be easily inj serted and removed through the open topof lthe vat and comprises an outer 'marginal 65 guard rail composed of similar wire rings -5- and `-5 arranged in axially spaced parallel relation and held in such relation by posts -6- which are spot-welded or other- Wise secured thereto to extend downwardly somej distancebelow the lower ring --5-l to rest upon the upper face of the marginal edge of the bottom -2- of the vat as shown in Figure 2, said posts being arran ed in uniformly spaced relation circum erentially 75 considerable distances apart to allow free passage of the washing uidtherethrough.

The rings are also braced against relative axial movement by vertical tie wires -7- which are also arranged in uniformly spaced B0 relation circumferentially midway between the posts,-6-.

A. pair of vertically spaced wire rings -8- and -8- of unequal butnrelatively small diameters are centrally supported upon lthe inner ends of a series of wire partitions 9 which are arranged approximately tangential to the u per ring -8- with their inner ends in -ra ially spaced relation thereto to permit the insertion of dishes or por-l tions thereof edgewise into the spaces.

`These partitions are identical in constructionand each comprises a pair` of substantially horizontal bars 11 and -11,- arranged in spaced relation vertically and having their inner ends connected by an upright brace wire -12- brazed or other wise secured thereto and their outer ends similarly brazed or otherwise secured to the upper and 'lower rings 5- and -5- so that each 100 `a dish-supporting member or wire -13- disposed in a plane below the lower wire -11 and having its outer end united to the upright wire -12- and its inner end secured to the lower wire ring -8- radial thereto to extend across the intervening space between the inner end of the partition and rings -8- and -8 and therefore at an angle to the vertical plane of the wire portions -11- and -11- to enable portions of the dishes to rest edgewise thereon during the washing and rinsing operations.

As illustrated the wire portions 11, 12 and 13 of each partition are made in one piece, the inner end of the lower portions 13 being continued upwardly and outwardly at 14 to form with the parts 12 and 13 a loop for receiving the adjacent edges of the dishes while the opposite ends of the part 11 of each partition are secured respecti-vely to the upright portion and to the ring 5 (See Figure 4).

The junctions of the parts 13 and 14 are secured to the ring 8', while the upper ends of the parts 14 are secured to the ring 8.

The rings 8 and 8 together with the upright .portions 14 form a supplemental central basket as clearly shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4.

It will be noted upon reference to Figure 1 that the upper and lower wire portions 11- and -11- are disposed in vertically inclined planes at an angle to each other nearly tangential to the upper ring -8-, the upper wire portions -11- being offset from the vertical plane of 'the lower portions `T11- to facilitate the reception and reten tion of concavo-convex dishes between thepartitions and to assist in holdin them in more or less similar relation to t e screen bottom -15- and rings 8;- and 8'- when resting edgewise upon the wire portions 13- between the outer rings -5- and -5- and inner rings -8- and -8e-,

A wire screen -15- of suficiently fine mesh to prevent the passage of knives, forks, spoons and other small objects therethrough is supported in a horizontal plane between the impeller 3- and dish-supporting members -13- of the several wire partitions -9- to extend across the entire area of and beneath the super-posed outer rings -54- and --8-` for the purpose ofpreventing the passage of'the smaller articles therethrough into the impcller chamber which might stop or damage the impeller 4cnd articles coming in contact therewith.

rllhe outer marginal ledge of the screen -15- is permanently secured by spot welding or otherwiseto a marginal ring -16' similar to, but somewhat heavier, than the rings -5- and -5-, said screen being further reinforced against sagging at the center by an additional ring -17- spot welded or otherwise secured thereto concentric with, but in 'spaced relation to, the ring -16-.

The ring 16- with the screen -15- thereon is supported from the lower ring -5- by means of a circumferential series of small hangers 1S- preferably of thin sheet metal having their upper ends provided with eyes hinged to the ring -5- in uniformly spaced relation circumferentially and their lower ends provided with hooks -19- movable into and out of engagement with the ring -16 so that when the dish-supporting tray or basket with the screen "15- thereon is removed from the vat -1-, the screen -15- may be removed from the tray by simply detaching the hooks -19- from the ring -16-, said. hooks being suHc/iently opened at the top to permit the wire 16 to pass therethrough.

The dish-supporting tray is similar in some respects to Patents 1,496,957, June 10, 1924. and No. 1,426,931, August 22, 1922, in so far as the broad idea of tangential rings is concerned but'difers therefrom in the construc- Operation When placing the dishes and other articles in the 'dish-supporting tray or basket vthe latter is ypreferably withdrawn from the vat -1 and allowed to rest upon a work-table or other supp0rt,tl1e dishes being then placed edgewise vertically between the partitions -9- to rest'against the same sidewise and upon the underlying wire portions -13- while the knives, forks and spoonsvwill be placed in a separate receptacle preferably perforated, not, shown, 'but adapted to be placed ywithin the rings -8- and -8- to be supported thereby during the washing op eration. l

When the tray is filled with dishes and other articles'to be washed, it, together with .the 'screen -15- on the lower side thereof,

will be placed within the vat so that the lower ends of the posts -6- will rest upon the upper face of the marginal edge of the conical bottom 2+ underwhich conditions the dish-supporting tray and screen will be enough washing and cleansing of the dishes the tray.

It is evident, however, that two or more `similar trays may be sup orted within the receptacle in planes one a ove the other without departing from the spirit of this inven- 208,665. filed a plane between the impeller and dish-suporting partitions -9- is particularly usescreen is broken up into infinite number of.

streams which, however, maintain their upward proj ection* by reason ofthe lifting force of the impeller, the resultant eiect of which is to-produce a more even distribution of the water to the overlying dishes in the tray or f trays, it being understood that the circumfer ential motion of the water is maintained until the desired diagonal impact of the water `with the dishes is established t which time the dishes deflect the water in various directions and allows said water to fall back into the bottom'v of the vvat through the intervening spaces' between the dishes and the intervvstices in the screen.

upper marginal in radially space V What I claim is In a mechanical dishwasher, an open-work dish-supporting tray having outer lower and 'upper marginal rings and inner lower and rings, the inner and outer rings being arranv ed about a common axis loops for receiving adjacent edges of the dishes to assist in holding the latter edgewise vertically.

, In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Band this 21st day of Ju ,1927.

The use of the horizontal screen 15.--

lication Serial No:

relation, and partition -wires connecting all the inner and outer rings' across said space and having portions thereof depressed to form 1 Foarns'iy A, WALKER, p 

